Improved post-hole auger



LEEDS & HOLLOWELL.

Post-Hole Auger.

No. 52,180. Patented Jan 23. 1866.

UNTTnn STATES PATENT @rrren JOSIAH M. LEEDS AND JOSEPH E. HOLLOWELL, OFKOKOMO, INDIANA.

IMPROVED POST-HOLE AUGER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 52,Il0, dated January23, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOsIAH M. LEEDS and J. E. HOLLOWELL, of Kokomo,Howard county, and State of Indiana, haveinvented a new and usefulImprovement in Augers for Digging Post-Holes; and we do hereby declarethat the following is a full and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this ourspecification, like letters in the several figures of said drawingsindicating the same parts, and in which drawings- Figure l is a frontelevation of our improved post-auger; Fig. 2, a vertical longitudinalsection, and Fig. 3 a cross-section of the same.

The object of our invention is the construction of a post-auger orimplementfor digging post-holes in the earth in such manner that thespringy or elastic qualities of the metal of which the implement is madeshall be utilized for retaining the earth within its grasp when in theact of digging, in lieu of relying upon the packing of the earth withinthe auger in order to raise the earth from the hold being dug.

In that class of post-angers which have a solid or closed head with alongitudinal slot or opening through which an implement may be insertedto pry out the earth, the objection exists, to wit, that the earth must,in the act of digging, be packed within the auger in order to lift itfrom the hole, and which, when packed, it is difficult to remove. By ourinvention, however, this difficulty is obviated, as the springingactionof the implement sufficiently grasps the earth to hold it while beingremoved from the hole, and when lifted from the hole the vibration ofthe body of the auger inclosing the earth, if the body be struck againstany solid object, will at once cause it to release its grasp and soallow the load to fall out.

In the drawings, A indicates the body ofthe auger, made of spring metal,and cylindric form, but with an opening or slot throughout its entirelength, as shown at g. This cylindric spring-metal body Ais attached tobraces B, formed with a screw-socket, c, therein, as

clearly represented in Fig.2,and which socket is to receive the handle Dof the implement.

The braces B we have shown with projections 1), through which rivets, asat a, may be passed, in order to securely fasten the springmetal body Aof the auger to the braces B. These braces rise aconsiderable heightabove the open top it of the auger before they unite and form the socketc, and thus, as indicated in Fig. 2, there will exist a capability forthe implement to be expanded its entire length between its cutting-edgef and the socket which receives the handle 1).

Thus constructed, it will. be seen that in the use of the implement itsbody A is capable of more or less expansion as the earth is forced intoit in the act of digging, and that the springing capability of the augerwill retain the earth dug to enable the operator to lift it from thehole.

It will also be seen that when the anger is charged with a load of dirtor earth a sudden blow of its body upon a resisting substancewill causeit to close in upon the dirt, thereby compressing it, and so loosen itas to cause it readily to drop out.

As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the bottom of the anger is formed with acutting-edge,f, the bevel of such edge being formed on the inside of thebody A, so that a larger diameter of cut will be made by said edgef thanthe diameter of the body of the auger above the commencement, atf, ofthe beveled portion f The earth is thus, in the act of using theimplement, forced into the body A above the pointf, and oncethere isretained by the clasping action of the spring metal of which the hotly Ais composed. If this beveled portionf" were to be made upon the outsideof the body A it is clear that the clasping capability of the augerwould not be broughtinto action unless the implement was so used as topack the earth in the body A to a very considerable extent, in order tohave it retained therein during the act of lifting theimplement from thehole being dug. Besides this, if the bevel f is made upon the inside ofthe implement, it can very readily and with perfect uniformity besharpened upon the orot'spril'lg metal, and with its cutting endbevdinary conical grindstone; whereas, if the eled, as atfff incombination with braces bevel should be formed upon the outside of B Bor their equivalents, substantially as dethe auger, the act ofsharpening the implescribed.

ment with uniformity Would be very difficult. JOSIAH M. LEEDS.

Having thus described our invention, what JOSEPH E. HOLLOWELL. We claimas new, and desire to secure by Let- \Vitnesses ters Patent of theUnited States, is R. H. BUCK,

A post-auger having its body A composed \VILLIAM VANHUE.

